Myelopathy care in Meridian, Mississippi

Myelopathy means the spinal cord itself is being compressed or irritated. It most often happens in the neck (cervical myelopathy), when arthritis, bone spurs, disc bulges, or thickened ligaments gradually narrow the canal around the cord.

Because the spinal cord carries signals to and from the whole body, myelopathy can affect your hands, your balance, and your walking. Symptoms often start slowly and are easy to blame on age, so the condition is sometimes missed.

I am Edward Smith, M.D., a fellowship-trained orthopaedic spine surgeon at Meridian Orthopaedic Specialists. I evaluate and treat myelopathy. I see patients in Meridian and serve patients from across east Mississippi and west Alabama.

Symptoms to watch for

  • Clumsy hands: trouble buttoning shirts, writing, picking up coins, or using a phone
  • Numbness or tingling in the hands, sometimes in both
  • Unsteady walking or poor balance, feeling like you need to hold on to walls or rails
  • Weakness or heaviness in the arms or legs
  • Neck pain or stiffness (though some people have little or no neck pain)
  • In more advanced cases, changes in bladder or bowel control

Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department right away if your symptoms get worse quickly, or if you have new loss of bowel or bladder control, numbness in the groin or inner thighs, or sudden severe weakness in your arms or legs.

Diagnosis

Evaluation includes a careful neurologic exam of strength, sensation, reflexes, hand function, and walking. X-rays are available in our office to look at alignment and arthritis. MRI is the main test for showing whether, where, and how much the spinal cord is compressed. Other conditions, such as nerve problems in the arms or other neurologic diseases, can look similar, so testing is matched to your symptoms.

Treatment approach

Myelopathy is different from most spine problems. Pinched-nerve pain often improves on its own, but spinal cord compression that is causing symptoms tends to stay the same or slowly get worse over time. For that reason, the conversation about surgery often comes earlier than it does for sciatica or back pain.

Observation and non-surgical care may be reasonable for some people with mild symptoms or compression seen on imaging without clear symptoms. That means regular follow-up exams, attention to any change in hand function or walking, and avoiding activities with a high risk of falls or neck injury. Therapy and medications can help with neck pain, but they do not relieve pressure on the cord.

Surgery is often recommended when myelopathy is causing symptoms or getting worse. The goal is to take pressure off the spinal cord and stabilize the spine when needed, for example, through an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), cervical disc replacement in selected patients, or a posterior decompression. The main aim is usually to stop further damage to the cord. Some symptoms may improve after surgery, but recovery varies. It often depends on how severe the pressure on the spinal cord is, how long it has been present, and whether the pressure has already caused permanent damage to the cord. Some cervical procedures can be done as outpatient surgery at our ambulatory surgery center, depending on the procedure and your overall health.

Care close to home

Myelopathy evaluation, X-rays, follow-up monitoring, and surgery when needed are available through Meridian Orthopaedic Specialists. Call 601.385.9111.

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